Archive for the ‘Innovative Products’ Category

Elektrogrill für Männer

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Crazy Germans and their sausage.  And I fully mean that as a compliment, because we here at Arc-Zone.com were all amazed and highly entertained by what happened next.

German welders + sausage + welding machine = Electric grill for men???

Adventurous Germans Grill Sausages with an Industrial Welder

“Eventually, the tube was so hot that the arc had to be shut down because the fat was on the verge of spontaneous combustion.”

By Vin Marshall  Posted 03.22.2010

Barbecue grills don’t typically require eye protection, but then, they’re typically not made from a giant TIG welder and an industrial sausage positioner either.

That’s something these Germans set out to change with the “Electric Grill For Men.”

What would you do if you needed to endurance-test a large industrial welding power supply?

You’d probably rig up something like the apparatus pictured here, in which a TIG welding torch draws a continuous arc along a slowly rotating piece of aluminum tubing mounted in a work positioner normally used for pipe welding.

As the long weld bead is laid down, the power supply is tested to verify that it can maintain its rated output and duty cycle without melting down. In the process, a great deal of heat is generated.

What would you do if you hated to see all of that heat going to waste? And furthermore, if you loved sausage?

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

One Company’s Scraps…

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Scrap metal doesn’t ever go to waste at Wagner Companies — instead, the employees are using their free time to transform these bits and pieces into beautiful works of art.

Metal manufacturing workers use talents to transform scraps into art

By Rick Barrett of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Feb. 8, 2010

When a piece of scrap metal falls to the factory floor at Wagner Companies, employee James Woggon may be close behind, snapping it up as material for his artwork.

So when thousands of small metal rings were going to be scrapped, Woggon used them – and a chair from the company cafeteria – to create a funky piece of patio furniture.

It was strictly for fun. Yet the talents of Woggon and fellow employee Jason Scott have not been lost on their employer, which manufactures things such as hand railings and snowplow parts. The two were hired as metal fabricators, an unglamorous job that often involves making thousands of parts in a repetitive fashion. But when work slows down, Woggon and Scott use their artistic talents in the factory.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Induction Heating in San Diego

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

It was a fun night for me at the monthly American Welding Society — San Diego Section meeting. This night’s topic? Induction heating with a system unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

Gone are the days of waiting hours and hours for your length of pipe to warm up to the right temperature –

Miller has just released the new ProHeat 35 Induction Heating System, which works by inducing heat electromagnetically, rather than via a conductor, thus saving the operator incredible amounts of time and energy.

Simply wrap the induction coils around whatever piece of metal you’re working on, and in just a few minutes, you’re ready to go!

This picture was taken looking inside the length of pipe that was being heated up by the ProHeat 35 — you can’t see it here, but that tube was glowing red hot on the inside!

And even better, when I tried touching the coils wrapped around it?
Cold as ice! This product is simply amazing!

But perhaps the best part about this whole new system is that you don’t even have to buy it! Red-D-Arc will rent out one of their machines to you for as long as you need!

VW Bug + Jet Engine = ???

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

I got this forwarded to me in an email and immediately knew that we had to post this here on Joe Welder!

Ron Patrick’s Street-Legal Jet Powered Volkswagen Beetle

This is my street-legal jet car on full afterburner.

The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back.

The idea is that you drive around legally on the gasoline engine and when you want to have some fun, you spin up the jet and get on the burner (you can start the jet while driving along on the gasoline engine).

The car was built because I wanted the wildest street-legal ride possible.

With this project, I was able to use some stuff I learned while getting my fancy engineering degree (I have a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University) to design a street-legal jet car without the distraction of how other people have done it in the past – because no one has.

I don’t know how fast the car will go and probably never will. The car was built to thrill me, not kill me. That doesn’t stop me from the occasional blast on the highway though.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Flying in (What Was Once) a Chevy

Friday, December 18th, 2009

I often wish when I’m stuck in rush hour traffic, that my car would suddenly sprout wings and fly over all the heads of those other unassuming drivers. But I’m not Brady McCormick, and my car can’t fly.

But his – well, with just a few adjustments, it’s more of a possibility than you might think.

In North Kitsap, Turning Old Cars Into New Planes

By GENE YOACHUM FOR THE KITSAP SUN

Brady McCormick has his eyes on the skies.

The machine shop owner sees an opportunity looming in building experimental aircraft power plants out of 40-year-old Corvair automobile engines.

Chevy Airplane EngineMcCormick, 42, said the recent announcement that Seattle-based Boeing Co. is opening a plant in South Carolina instead of Puget Sound “creates a vacuum’’ for aircraft manufacturing locally.

“Now’s my chance to fill that vacuum,” he said, tongue planted firmly in cheek. “I haven’t found the plans yet for a 747, but as soon as I do, they are in trouble.”

McCormick’s plans for building experimental airplanes powered by Corvair engines is no joke.

Pulled from wrecking yards and scrap heaps, engines from Chevrolet’s once-popular compact car are perfect for experimental aircraft enthusiasts to rebuild and convert into airplane engines, he said.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Product Spotlight: ArcTime™

Friday, November 20th, 2009
ArcTime™ Brand Hybrid, One Tungsten Blend For All Materials
The Sky’s The Limit With The NEW ArcTime™ Hybrid Tungsten Electrodes!
State-of-the-Art, Non-Radioactive Tungsten Electrode Formula: For all metals, compatible with all welding machines.
Fabricators from around the world are using ArcTime™ Hybrid to improve weld-quality, lower tungsten inventory costs and minimize weld defects.  What started as “cult  product” with a few specialty manufacturers of yatch towers, aerospace parts, mountain bikes and race cars has grown into our most poular tungsten electorde product.
Professional fabricators choose ArcTime™ because of its excellent ignition properties, low burn off rate and Tip longevity. As an added bonus, ArcTime™ hybrid tungsten electrodes work well with all power sources and all metals from mild steel to titanium. The material is clearly differentiated by it’s Sky Blue™ color code.
The NEW ArcTime™ offers all that, at a price even a hobbyist or small weld shop can afford.
We are so certain that you will benefit from the new ArcTime™ Hybrid, we are offering a Unconditional Money Back Guarantee backed by our industry-leading No-Hassle Return Policy.
“You’ll notice a difference just by striking the first arc– no finer electrode exists anywhere,” says Jim Watson, president and founder of Arc-Zone.com, Inc.
ArcTime™ Hybrid Performance Tungsten Electrodes™ pass Arc-Zone.com’s 5-Point Inspection Program and are delivered complete with Arc-Zone’s popular Guide to Tungsten (pdf), and Material Safety Data Sheet (pdf) .

ArcTime™ Brand Hybrid, One Tungsten Blend For All Materials

State-of-the-Art, Non-Radioactive Tungsten Electrode Formula: For all metals, compatible with all welding machines.

arctimeFabricators from around the world are using ArcTime™ Hybrid tungsten electrodes to improve weld-quality, lower tungsten inventory costs and minimize weld defects.  What started as “cult  product” with a few specialty manufacturers of yatch towers, aerospace parts, mountain bikes and race cars has grown into our most poular tungsten electrode product.

arctimepicProfessional fabricators choose ArcTime™ because of its excellent ignition properties, low burn off rate and tip longevity.  In other words, this stuff lasts!

As an added bonus, ArcTime™ hybrid tungsten electrodes work well with all power sources and all metals from mild steel to titanium. The material is clearly differentiated by it’s Sky Blue™ color code.

The NEW ArcTime™ offers all that, at a price even a hobbyist or small weld shop can afford.

We are so certain that you will benefit from the new ArcTime™ Hybrid, we are offering a Unconditional Money Back Guarantee backed by our industry-leading No-Hassle Return Policy.

“You’ll notice a difference just by striking the first arc– no finer electrode exists anywhere,” says Jim Watson, president and founder of Arc-Zone.com, Inc.

ArcTime™ Hybrid Performance Tungsten Electrodes™ pass Arc-Zone.com’s 5-Point Inspection Program and are delivered complete with Arc-Zone’s popular Guide to Tungsten (pdf), and Material Safety Data Sheet (pdf) .

See What Customers Are Saying:

Amazing TUNGSTEN. I never have to switch it out when I weld something new and the arc always strikes perfectly. I am on this for the rest of my welding days!!

Date Added: 05/14/2009 by Roger Wilcox

Some of the best large tungsten I have ever used. I am a definite believer from now on. And they set me up with a Net account in a couple of minutes. A wonderful experience.

Date Added: 05/25/2009 by Duncan Moore

We started using the ArcTime after we had some major quality issues with our tungsten supply. One of the challenges of being a government entity is the material is supplied for a variety of reasons, and most times quality is not one of them! We were using the 1.5% and 2% Lanthanated material, and it varied in performance and each supplier had a box with a different label on it which did not sit well with our welding shop instructor. We tested the ArcTime material and were very pleased with the look of the material, the supporting documentation and most importantly the performance. We do maintenance welds on Aluminum ship hulls – the ArcTime hybrid tungsten out performs all other materials, and saves us a lot of headaches. Now we can focus on welding!

HT2 Hull Technician Pacific Fleet (sent via email)

Date Added: 06/25/2008 by Arc-Zone Admin

Check out what our very own Roxy Fuel has to say about ArcTime™:

Try it for yourself, then tell us what YOU think!

Product Spotlight: Gas Saver Pro Kits™

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

The Gas Saver Pro kits are a convienent and cost effective way to get all the components needed to convert your TIG torch to the benefits of a CK Gas Saver front end.  It saves time and money by organizing all the parts in one kit with a lid card and part numbers for easy replacement.

Customers tell us all the time that the gas saver pro kits improve their  TIG welding performance, improve weld visibility, and offer better shield gas coverage and lower gas consumption.

In other words, its worth it:

The Arc-Zone Weld Like A Pro™ Deluxe Gas Saver Kits are the Ultimate Boxes of High-Performance TIG Torch Accessory Parts — Assembled by The TIG Welding Experts at Arc-Zone.com®

Everything You Need To Optimize Your TIG Torch, and Get the Best Quality Welds — Right out of the Box!

  • With a Gas Saver™ Kit you can produce high-quality welds on a consistent basis for a variety of TIG welding applications in many cases replacing bulky and expensive trail shields.
  • The Pyrex glass nozzle offers excellent visibility of the weld puddle and the tungsten electrode– ideal for inside corners, inside pipe and around tubing etc.
  • Gas Saver™ kits are available in tungsten electrode sizes from .040″ (1.0mm) to 1/8″ (3.2mm) and are engineered with a replaceable tungsten adapter and universal collet for low cost screen replacement.

standardThe CK® Standard Diameter Gas Saver™ kit saves up to 40% of shield gas consumption and provides better flow patterns allowing for electrode stick-out of up to six (6) times electrode diameter. Gas Saver™ kits are lightweight, for improved operator comfort and torch control.

large

The CK® Large Diameter Gas Saver™ nozzle kit is used to provide an inert atmosphere for the welding of reactive metals such as titanium, molybdenum, nickel-based and aluminum based alloys as well as non-reactive metals like stainless steel. The nozzle is a whopping 1-1/8” (28.5mm) in diameter for ultimate shield gas coverage!



What Customers Say:

This kit is worth the money. You can switch out multiple sizes and reordering parts is very easy.

Date Added: 07/18/2009 by Fab Shop

Thanks for the kit gentlemen. It came exactly as described and the clear nozzle really helps. The tungsten sample pack makes really good welds. CHEERS.

Date Added: 05/05/2009 by John Crane

My torch looks exactly like the picture. This kit came with everything I needed. Thanks for the tungsten, works great.

Date Added: 05/19/2009 by Ron Doll

Get your KIT today–>

Welded Clamps Deter Thefts

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

How much do you value your car’s catalytic converter?  I don’t know about you, but I kind of like mine, and I’d kind of like it to stay where it is: attached to my car!  Thankfully, a device exists called a CatClamp™ (made by American Welding Inc.) to thwart off any would be “CatCons.”  

Stainless Steel Clamp Thwarts CatCon Thieves
May 1, 2009 12:00 PM
When welding isn’t the answer, fabricator finds the right method to get an idea to market.
Thieves are shameless in their pursuit catalytic converters (they’re after the precious metal contents, especially platinum), which has resulted in the development of a number of defensive devices aimed at preventing efforts to cut the “cats” away from a vehicle’s exhaust system.
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The emissions control devices use platinum and palladium as oxidizing catalysts to remove several pollutants from a gasoline engine’s exhaust stream. Platinum, the more expensive metal, sold for $600/ounce five years ago. In 2008 the price was over $2,000/ounce — far more valuable than gold.
The crime is simple, and too common: a thief slips under a vehicle, often a SUV or truck with ample clearance and, with a reciprocating saw, slices through the exhaust pipe on either end of the catalytic converter, freeing it for removal. The operation takes about 10 seconds, and may yield the criminal $50 to $250, or more, from a scrap yard or recycler.
One of the most affordable and foolproof designs to combat catcon theft is a stainless steel device known as the CatClamp™ (www.catclamp.com), an innovation manufactured by American Welding Inc. (www.americanweldinginc.com) — a welding and fabricating operation in Toledo, OH.

Stainless Steel Clamp Thwarts CatCon Thieves

May 1, 2009 12:00 PM

When welding isn’t the answer, fabricator finds the right method to get an idea to market.

Thieves are shameless in their pursuit catalytic converters (they’re after the precious metal contents, especially platinum), which has resulted in the development of a number of defensive devices aimed at preventing efforts to cut the “cats” away from a vehicle’s exhaust system.

The emissions control devices use platinum and palladium as oxidizing catalysts to remove several pollutants from a gasoline engine’s exhaust stream. Platinum, the more expensive metal, sold for $600/ounce five years ago. In 2008 the price was over $2,000/ounce — far more valuable than gold.

The crime is simple, and too common: a thief slips under a vehicle, often a SUV or truck with ample clearance and, with a reciprocating saw, slices through the exhaust pipe on either end of the catalytic converter, freeing it for removal. The operation takes about 10 seconds, and may yield the criminal $50 to $250, or more, from a scrap yard or recycler.

CONTINUE READING ONLINE ->

Product Spotlight: Sharpie™

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

We introduced the Sharpie hand-held tungsten electrode grinder in 2000.  We started with the SD or “standard” which is our low-cost model with a fixed grind angle.  Based on customer feedback we added the DX which has an adjustable grind angle range from 5-45 degrees, and more recently the vacuum model which is adjustable with a dust collection bag.

The machines are very popular with hobbyists and fabricators that need to grind tungsten electrodes up to 1/8″ (3.2mm).  They solve the problem of wearing out grinding wheels and belt sander belts, and greatly improve safety in the shop or on the job site.  I have been very pleased with all the positive comments that we get from customers after they receive their Sharpies.  It’s a great product!  Try one and see if you agree — as with all Arc-Zone purchases — its guaranteed!

Three Models to Choose From:

dxvThe Sharpie™ DXV “Deluxe Vacuum” model adjusts for a wide range of grind angles and tapers from 15-to-45 degrees (included angle) for virtually any TIG welding application and includes built-in dust collection for dust-free electrode preparation.

Customer Review:

Got this vacuum grinder with the pro kit. Great deal. We have a welder here who is pregnant and the vacuum system really helps with dust collection. Thanks for the candy and the free poster.

Date Added: 05/14/2009 by Roger Wilcox

dxThe Sharpie™ DX “Deluxe” adjusts for a wide range of grind angles and tapers from 15-to-45 degrees (included angle) for virtually any TIG welding application.

Customer Review:

Got this grinder and it worked great even on 1/8 tungsten. Good adjustment angle, used the first side of the wheel then flipped it over and continued to grind. It is a must have for a shop.

Date Added: 03/17/2009 by Hit Hard

sdThe Sharpie™ SD “Standard” has it’s grind angle pre-set at 20 degrees, a good, general-purpose angle for a variety of TIG welding applications, making the Sharpie Standard™ an economical choice.

Customer Review:

I’m a student at the local tech college taking the basic welding course. As you may have guessed, the need to sharpen the tungsten electrode is pretty frequent. The sharpie standard model has been a huge time saver, allowing me more time to learn tig. The price for of the sharpie is fairly steep for a student but well worth the cost in time saved. I would recommend this product to anyone from bigginer to expert. Sincerly, Dave

Date Added: 11/14/2008 by Dave Fasteen

Did you know that Arc-Zone.com carries the industry’s most comprehensive selection of tungsten grinders? In addition to the Sharpie, we’ve got the Turbo Sharp, the Triad, the Neutrix hand held tungsten grinders. We’ve also got the Neutra, the Ultima LTG, the TIG 10/175 and the Turbo 4…. not to mention replacement parts– including diamond grinding wheels for all the industry’s tungsten grinders.!
And if you’re not sure which one is right for you, check out our Tungsten Grinder Selector Guide (pdf).

Welding Helmet + Hard Hat

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

If you’re welding on the job in a position that requires wearing a hard hat, why don’t you check out the new Sperian helmet.  Called the “Galaxy”, it’s a “passive flip front, high impact approved welding helmet… with a hard hat adaptor”.  That means no more switching back and forth between welding helmet and hard hat while you’re on the job.

Sperian’s Galaxy high impact welding helmet now with hard hat adaptor

10 July 2009

SPERIAN has launched the Galaxy high impact welding helmet with a hard hat adaptor.sperian

According to Sperian, its Galaxy high impact welding helmet is currently the only passive flip front, high impact approved welding helmet on the market. It is tested to Australian Standards, and approved by SAI Global.

The Galaxy welding helmet is now fitted with a hard hat adaptor to suit PA620V and MSA V-Guard Elite hard hats.

Also available as a spare part, users can quickly convert their standard Galaxy high impact welding helmets to be used with a hard hat.

This provides protection for the head without needing to switch helmets and hardhats. The Galaxy high impact welding helmet with hard hat adaptor can be used at construction sites.

Welders using the Galaxy high impact welding helmet with hard hat adaptor can change the distance from the Auto Darkening Filter (ADF) to the eye, and the angle of the welding helmet to the hard hat to suit to their personal needs and working environment.